Vol. 14, No. 1 • November 2009

"Come Home to SaySo"

by Nancy Carter, SaySo Executive Director

Many new and exciting additions have occurred with SaySo in recent months that make it even easier to help youths connect with other youths facing similar transitions. “Come Home to SaySo” is our campaign to reach young people, especially alumni, who are transitioning to the adult world. Many SaySo youths say they feel supported and “at home” at SaySo events, when they call the SaySo office, and just spending time on our website. A recent “Come Home to SaySo” poster contest awarded Titianna $75 for first prize. Her poster will be printed and distributed to child serving agencies throughout North Carolina to help promote the support and information SaySo offers to young people up to age 24.

In addition to our new campaign, we have added Ms. Lauren Zingraff to our staff as Program Coordinator. Lauren comes to SaySo full of energy and enthusiasm to help young people meet their potential. Her background in communications and social work provide a perfect fit for her role to help build the SaySo organization and increase the range of community partners that have an interest in assisting youths. At this summer’s orientation session, the Board of Directors outlined three goals that Lauren will help them achieve: (1) increase income through the Food Lion Shares program, (2) increase marketability and visibility, and (3) increase service and outreach to youths across North Carolina.

You can help SaySo reach these goals by supporting several programs:

• Visit www.saysoinc.org, search “Food Lion,” and enter your MVP # or call Lauren at 800-820-0001 and give it to her directly.
• Contact SaySo if you have an event and need a youth speaker or SaySo exhibit. We do our best to honor all requests.
• Visit our website often. Anyone can access it! We are constantly updating the site, adding new information about LINKS, events, and other services, plus we have added a new page for each local chapter. As of this date, we have 16 local chapters! We are currently seeking information from all the local chapters to add information to their respective pages.
• Encourage youths to join our Facebook page. We are a closed group on Facebook—the only SaySo INC group that will come up on a “search.” Our Board of Directors is pictured on the page. We require all members of this Facebook group to secure all privacy settings to protect the young person’s location. Lauren can help them set their privacy settings if they call her (800-820-0001). We also inform youths that by only allowing friends to view their profile, they are also protecting their information/photos and discussions from potential employers and school admissions personnel.

We really are working hard to help North Carolina’s young people support and educate each other. Encourage your young people to join SaySo and attend our events whenever possible. They will receive a membership card and six newsletters per year with updates on services and information. The events are fun but the impact is great. As one young person said after many years of multiple placements, “I had to come back. SaySo was in my blood.”

We are here to stay. So whenever youths are ready, they can “Come Home to SaySo.”

Copyright � 2009 Jordan Institute for Families